Bedbug Complaints Spike In Albuquerque

KOAT-TV (NM)Friday, August 5, 2011

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- City
officials said actual bedbug cases in Albuquerque are not on the
rise, but calls complaining of them are through the roof.

Joe Martinez, of Safe City Strike Force, said more and more
Albuquerque residents believe the little bedtime bloodsuckers are
feasting on them when they head to bed. In fact, Martinez said
monthly calls to the Strike Force complaining of the critters are
already in the hundreds.

Martinez said the tenant complaints have caused a 24-hour delay
in Strike Force's response, and yet, when crews show up to
investigate, they're not finding bedbugs.

"They will be red ants, gnats and other situations like that,"
Martinez said. "I would say we only have a few of the properties we
go out to that are still infested with bedbugs."

Martinez attributed the spike in calls to a combination of
heightened awareness and problem in national media, but the officer
said people don't know the signs for which they are supposed to be
looking.

"There's a lot of information on the Internet about bedbugs,"
Martinez said.

Martinez urged residents to talk to their landlords first about
the problem before calling the city.